Can we just call it 27.5?

Hey all, after riding a sweet proto 27.5er the other day, and having owned a 5" travel 29er for a whole 3 weeks i'm really looking foreward to a mid sized wheelset on a 160ish travel do it all trailbike.

I'm in a shop all day trying to explain what the heck 650b is and why. Can we just come up with a catchy name for it?

I've been in this gig for 20 years now and i honestly don't know what 650b is. I did sell 26x1 3/8 and 27x1 1/4 Schwinns back in the day though

I see Enve, Intense, Schwalbe and others are trying to use "27.5" Unless someone has a better name i'd say lets go with it.

I'm going to start a bike brand called Sevener Because it just rolls off the tongue! Not.

I see 700 as a cyclocross tire, not a road tire where it is commonly used. Your point isn't much of one.

5 years of so we've referred to it as 650b, and now we change because some people don't get it? Mountain bike was a brand name just like Kleenex and it stuck to an entire activity, mountains or not. Why not just let 650b, be.

...not sure what the OP has been doing for 20 yrs and not know about standard wheel sizes....You are not going to find many if any shops that are in this realm yet, they are dependent on the industry. You can make your own 6" travel 650B bike today, I am on my third build in that category. Weyless 67, Jamis XAM2, now Santacruz Butcher.

I would love to see the chart, or the history of 700c, 650a,b, and xyz as well.

I see 700, 584 and 698, where is 650? 584 + a road tire? My point exactly.

650b is really old, something like 50-60 years. It was use in Europe for touring bikes so the the size comes from the rim diameter plus a larger touring tire. The rim size made a bit of a comeback in the late 80s/early 90s in the form of custom road bikes for small riders, women in particular. I don't know the exact dates but you get the general idea.

Only two infinite things exist: the universe and stupidity. And, I am unsure of the universe
- Albert Einstein

I prefer 650B over 27.5, It sounds a lot better to me. Funny thing is I can't quantify that opinion really.
I think maybe it was introduced to me by that name way back when and anything else just sounds wrong.

It would make much more sense to describe wheels with the rim size, because the tire diameter fluctucates so much due to tire size. 559mm, 584mm, and 622mm. Or even rounding to 56cm, 58cm, and 62cm. It may be too late for that.

I think 27.5" is stupid. Doesn't sound good, and makes people think that the rim size exactly splits the difference between 26" + 29", when it is really much closer to 26".

It would make much more sense to describe wheels with the rim size, because the tire diameter fluctucates so much due to tire size. 559mm, 584mm, and 622mm. Or even rounding to 56cm, 58cm, and 62cm. It may be too late for that.

I think 27.5" is stupid. Doesn't sound good, and makes people think that the rim size exactly splits the difference between 26" + 29", when it is really much closer to 26".

MUCH closer?

559
584 (+25mm/4.5%)
622 (+38mm/6.5 %)

I guess we need to switch to 650A (590mm BSD) to use 27.5"?

Much like everything else 650b, its going to be the manufacturers that set the terms here, and 27.5 seems to be gaining traction from what I see.

27.5" is easier to explain to the customer that doesn't have any idea what 650b is (26", 27.5", 29" makes more sense thatn 26", 650B, 29").

It also prevents confusion with 650C (571mm BSD). 700c works because 700a, b, and d are all practically obsolete. 700B (635 BSD) tires are out there, but everyone calls them 28".

Eh, my point is that 26" and 29 wheels are not actually 26/29 in diameter. Totally depends on tire size. 26 X 1.9 < 2.2 < 2.5 < 3.0
So why not label the rim size, and the tire size, and then everything is accurate.

If you must use some arbitrary inch size that is not accurate, 26", 27", 29" is closer.